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Rational Choice, Deterrence, and Theoretical Integration
Author(s) -
Ward David A.,
Stafford Mark C.,
Gray Louis N.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00061.x
Subject(s) - rational choice theory (criminology) , deterrence (psychology) , imperfect , action (physics) , perfect information , deterrence theory , economics , social psychology , psychology , positive economics , microeconomics , law and economics , criminology , law , political science , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
The old version of rational choice theory is that people engage in conscious and deliberate cost–benefit analysis such that they maximize the values and minimize the costs of their actions. The new version of rational choice theory is that people intuit the values and costs of an action; but because they are imperfect processors of information, they pursue what they perceive as most satisfying. The possibility that legal punishments deter is consistent with the new version of rational choice theory, which can be used to integrate deterrence with other criminological theories, such as strain and social learning. An integrated theory of deterrence is presented and tested with experimental data.